Malachi 2:14 (NKJV) Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
When Adam and Eve chose to live independently from God by disobeying Him, sin and individualism entered the world. Unfortunately, individualism is the deathbed of marriage.
Marriage today is all about the big “I”. If the relationship ceases to give people what they want or if things get tough, they will just walk away and start all over again. What many people fail to realise is that each marriage partner brings years of mental, emotional, and spiritual baggage into the marriage relationship, and the adjustments that are required after getting married can be challenging.
Rather than facing their problems together and working on their relationships, many couples opt for the easy way out through divorce, whereby hearts are broken, and homes destroyed, and the collateral damage has a rippling effect across society.
Most people today view marriage as a social contract governed by the state and negotiated between the two sovereign people who share the same bed, but when viewed as a contract, the couple will always think in terms of conditions, limits, rights, and even “outs”.
Marriage is like a house, and a solid foundation is needed to ensure that it lasts. The bedrock upon which the foundation must rest is an unconditional, mutual covenant that allows no external or internal circumstances to put asunder the marital union that God Himself has established.
When God created for Adam a helper, He intended them to be one flesh, not just through physical union, but also to become one in their goals, wills, emotions, minds and spirits, and to go through life as one single entity.
The Lord is the unseen witness when we exchange marriage vows in entering into a marriage covenant. God expects us to honour the covenant as He Himself honours His covenant with us.
His plan also includes our relationships with Him. Like a cord of three strands which is not easily broken, the third person in a Christian marriage is Jesus Himself who will hold and bind the marriage together in the bond of love.
As Christians, we have a covenant relationship with God and a marriage covenant with our spouse. Therefore, as long as we model our marriage after the covenant that God has with us, our marriage will be a lasting one.
Sermon Series: Affluenza
盟约婚姻
玛拉基书2:14 你们还说:“这是为什么呢?” 因为耶和华在你和你幼年所娶的妻中间作见证，她虽是你的配偶，又是你盟约的妻子，你却以诡诈待她。
当亚当和夏娃不顺服神，选择我行我素地生活时，罪和个人主义就进入了世界。不幸的是，个人主义是婚姻的临终之床。
如今的婚姻都是关于那个大写的“我”字。如果一段关系不能再供给他们想要的东西，或者当事情变得棘手，他们就会一走了之，重新开始。许多人没有意识到的是，每一个婚姻伴侣都会给婚姻关系带来多年的精神、情感和属灵的包袱，而结婚后所需要的调整可能是具有挑战性的。
许多夫妻不愿意一起面对问题，也不愿意经营他们的关系，而是选择省事的方法——离婚。然而这样一来，心碎了，家没了，而由此产生的连带损害则波及整个社会。
如今，大多数人将婚姻视为一纸社会合约，由国家治理，在两位同床共枕的元首的协商之下订立。但当被视为一纸合约时，夫妻双方总是会考虑条件、限制、权利，甚至是“补数”。
婚姻就像房子，需要一个坚实的基础来确保它的稳固。这个基础必须建立在一个无条件的，相互的盟约之上，它不允许任何外部或内部的状况来破坏神亲自设立的婚姻。
当神为亚当创造一个帮手时，祂想让他们成为一体，不仅仅是通过肉体上的结合，还是在目标、意志、情感、思想和精神上成为一体，作为一个单独的整体度过一生。
我们在婚约中互相起誓，主就是那看不见的证人。神期待我们遵守这盟约，就像祂亲自信守祂与我们所立的约一样。
祂的计划也包括我们和祂的关系，就像一根不容易扯断的三股绳一样，基督教婚姻中的第三个人就是耶稣自己，祂用爱的纽带把婚姻维系在一起。
作为基督徒，我们与神有盟约关系，与配偶有婚约。所以，只要我们以神与我们所立的约为榜样来模造婚姻，我们的婚姻势必百年好合，长长久久。
讲章系列：富贵病 – “现代文明富裕症”